Micah 6:7-8:Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, [or] with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn [for] my transgression, the fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Samuel does this in a big way when Saul spares some of the Amalekites and their livestock (which God had previously ordered completely destroyed for their crimes against the Hebrews during the Exodus). Saul says, more or less "I offered the usual sacrifices," and then Samuel more or less flies at him:

1 Samuel 15:22-Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearkening to the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice!

Samuel then went to the Amalekite king Agag and "hewed him in pieces," saying (implicitly), "this is the point, you idiot! Just why did I ever make you king?"

Jesus said it very well when speaking of the Pharisees who forgot the meaning of the law was to show mercy and faith in Matthew 23:24 'Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.'

TheLyniezian

12:29:18 PM Oct 4th 2013

Saved me a job then. It might have made sense when the trope was still "Completely Missing the Point" but not since the name change.

I'll change "Dr. Evil of the Austin Powers films misses the point when Frau tries telling him that she's pregnant." in Film Examples to "Dr. Evil of the Austin Powers films misses the point when Frau Farbissina tries telling him that she's pregnant." because "Frau" is not her first name, it is the german word for Mrs.

Someone added a real life example even though this is an in-universe comedy trope. The very reason this trope was renamed is because people kept adding real life examples as a way to complain about things. I'm going to add a No Real Life Examples, Please! note to the main text.

DonaldthePotholer

06:51:46 PM Sep 17th 2011

Moved the former page image to Image Wiki, as it was a Real Life Examples. The only works-based example in the image page can work, if it didn't need all 4 panels.

algebra17

02:18:25 AM Jul 12th 2012edited by algebra17

I only have one Real Life Example on me, but I'm wondering why they're forbidden for this trope — it's a relatively common device people use in bantering back and forth.

I mean, think about the conversation between one of Leonidas' general and a messenger for the Persians at Thermopylae:

Messenger: Our arrows shall block out the sun!
General: Then we shall have our battle in the shade.

In this case, you could argue that the General is missing the point that this great number of arrows would be really deadly [i]for intended comic effect on his part[/i]. I mean, it also might qualify as finding the silver lining, but you get what I mean?

I have another example of a possible usage in conversation, just to show that it's applicable to real life. Consider a refutation of a "yo momma" joke:

A: What's the difference between yo momma and your washing machine?
B: I don't know.
A: When I drop a load in your washing machine, it doesn't follow me around for a week!
B: My washing machine opens in the front.

So, couldn't this trope have examples in real life? [I thought I'd bring this to the discussion first, since I'm not sure about it, and the page said no. That, and I'm new at this.]

I've noted how much this trope gets potholed as a criticism of prose laid by earlier tropes, or general snark at a third party, which I do believe should be addressed somehow, perhaps by blanking the page and making this trope a permanent red link, or at the very least discouraging a pothole.

You know what's really this trope? When another troper brought up a valid point about subjectivity of a character and whether or not they counted as The Wesley or not and went into a completely different direction with it.

I'm not sure whether I like the new image or the old one better (the old one definitely benefited from the caption), but either way I think we can do better. If anyone finds a better image, try posting it; I will if I find one. (I suspect that the current image is a very good illustration of a trope, but not this one. Not sure which one, though.)

AnonymousMcCartneyfan

09:57:26 PM Aug 8th 2010

Recommend that we not use an image that is clearly a Real Life example.

It occurs to me more expanation of my edit there is needed, but it's inappropriate to commit to the main page.

The passage that I think prompted a previous editor to suggest that Cailan was attempting to turn the country over to Orlais was this:

(This letter appears to have been crumpled then carefully smoothed out and folded again) Cailan, The visit to Ferelden will be postponed indefinitely, due to the darkspawn problem. You understand, of course? The darkspawn have odd timing, don't they? Let us deal with them first. Once that is done we can further discuss a permanent alliance between Orlais and Ferelden. — "A note written in an uncharacteristally familiar tone from Empress Celene to King Cailan"

I see the idea, but the claim of 'permanent alliance' is a hell of a distance from "turning over the country". The real thing here is the difference between Logaine's worldview (formed during the occupation of Fereldan by the Orlesians) of Orlais as an incredibly powerful enemy who would love to reconquer Fereldan, and the current reality (that Orlais is not currently hostile to Fereldan, and retaking the country would be a costly endeavour it does not care to endure).

Basically, I think the poster is Completely Missing the Point. Those letters imply that Cailan was secretly having an affair with the empress of Orlais, but it doesn't infer that he was traitorous.

Turtler

10:13:45 PM Aug 17th 2010

In a feudal world where politics and personal relationships (up to AND including marraige) are so intertwined as to be effectively conjoined, it is difficult to say anything for certain, but even the simple fact that Cailan and Celene were having an affair would have sent up red flags in real life given how land transfers can happen amongst royalty via marraige, it is probable that an alliance would have been the very LEAST that would have happened, particularly considering the possibilities of Celene just using Cailan to prepare for a move on Fereldan in general. It's not 100% certain proof, but it is enough to be highly suspicious of, particularly that even if Cailan wasn't treasonous it might leave the door open for another occupation anyway.

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